UT Tyler School of Medicine student Justin Crowe does an eye test on simulated patient Amy Joffrion in February 2024. (Raquel Villatoro/Tyler Morning Telegraph File)

The University of Texas at Tyler announced Dr. Sue Cox has been named the dean of the School of Medicine. Cox has been serving as the school’s interim dean since September.

“Dr. Cox is the right leader to guide the School of Medicine and continue its growing impact on the health of East Texas,” said UT Tyler President Julie V. Philley, MD. “She is a nationally recognized expert in medical education and played a vital role in the launch of the School of Medicine.”

Prior to serving as interim dean, Cox served as School of Medicine planning dean and has continued to guide accreditation, strategy and quality improvement efforts. Cox is known for emphasizing leadership skills, collaboration, innovation, problem-solving and cross-disciplinary teamwork with a focus on value-based healthcare.

“I’m honored to continue my journey with the School of Medicine in this role,” said Cox. “I’m very grateful for all the support I’ve received from the institution and look forward to serving the East Texas community.”

An obstetrician-gynecologist by training, Cox has shaped medical education throughout the United States for more than 30 years. Prior to joining UT Tyler, she was executive vice dean of academics and chair of medical education at Dell Medical School at UT Austin. The lead designer of curriculum for Dell Med, she co-chaired the accreditation steering committee.

In 2019, she received the Association of American Medical Colleges Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award, recognizing faculty for distinguished contributions to medical education nationwide. Cox has received many awards for leadership, distinguished teaching and clinical work, including being listed among the Best Doctors in America.

After Founding Dean Dr. Brigham C. Willis stepped down in September due to family reasons, Cox stepped in as interim dean. Right away, Cox began meeting with the medical students.

In her role, Cox wants to focus on supporting the students from undergraduate, to graduate and those in residencies; recruiting high-caliber medical students and quality faculty and getting the school fully accredited by 2027.

“We know that if students go to medical school in a location, even if they leave for residency, about 60% will return back to that location,” Cox said in a previous interview with the Tyler Morning Telegraph. “And if we can keep them here for residency, 85% will stay in the area to practice, so that will help improve access to care.”

As 2025 nears, many milestones are approaching for the UT Tyler SOM including the completion of the new Medical Education Building. The five-story, nearly 248,000-square-foot facility, which will connect the skybridge to the UT Health East Texas Hospital, will allow for hands-on learning of residents in the adjacent hospitals, offering physicians to train and practice without leaving the area. The Medical Education Building will include classrooms, simulation labs, clinical and operating room training spaces, and multipurpose event and lecture spaces for the UT Tyler School of Medicine and graduate medical education programs.

The medical school building will be completed by Oct. 1, 2025, according to Cox. The building will have an education and clinical portion. The clinical portion will be completed three weeks after Oct 1, 2025. After the completion of both sides, students will begin to take classes by Thanksgiving 2025.

Other upcoming milestones include provisional accreditation, which the school is preparing for now.

In February 2025, the UT Tyler School of Medicine will have its site visit to evaluate its program for provisional accreditation. This is the next step after UT Tyler SOM received preliminary accreditation in 2022.

UT Tyler SOM received over 2,000 applications and interviewed 300 students for 40 spots in its second class, which is learning now. Cox is proud of the growth of the school.

“It shows us that our admissions process is working, that we’re delivering on what we wanted to do,” Cox said. “We’re [the] medical school for East Texas, and then we need to recruit individuals from East Texas.”